As we got closer we could see its smooth skin and swept back fin, this was no humpback, we were pretty sure this was a fin whale! Normally they live 30miles off the coast, but this curious beast had come only a kilometre or so off the shore. To get a proper identification we looked between the dorsal fin and the tail flukes. Another name for a fin whale is a razorback, because it has a prominent ridge in that area. When the fin whale arched its back to do a deep dive we saw this line clearly.

This minke was feeding right next to Engey, an island very close to the shore, and it was a wonderful sight to see. All of our lovely customers got excellent photos with the beautiful mountains, islands and cityscape in the background! What a treat. We also get whales right inside the inner harbour, inside the harbour walls!

It was a minke whale, surrounded by harbour porpoises! The whale was feeding in the area, just like the other cetaceans, and so each time it popped up it was on a different side of the boat.

There were plenty of cormorants, fulmars and seagulls as well as some gannets. The gannets are always a brilliant sea bird to follow when looking for whales or dolphins as they are large, with bold markings and dive dramatically, and elegantly from about 30m to fish, so easy to spot.

It was a minke whale, surrounded by harbour porpoises! The whale was feeding in the area, just like the other cetaceans, and so each time it popped up it was on a different side of the boat.